Tourist industry's disaster year

THE parlous state of the tourist market will be highlighted this week with figures showing that the sector is still reeling from foot-andmouth disease and 11 September.

Earnings from overseas visitors to Britain fell 12% to £9.4m in the 10 months to last October compared with the same period in 2000. The figures for November are expected to be as bleak.

Michael Dunkley, executive council member of the British Incoming Tour Operators' Association, said: 'Last year was a total disaster, to say the least. The figures for November will confirm what many of us already know. There are some hopeful noises being made about recovery from foot-and-mouth, but in the meantime I expect a number of coach and tour operators to go belly-up.'

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) estimates that 16 tour operators and 20 travel agencies went bust last year, against six operators and 19 agents in 2000. Major travel groups such as Thomas Cook, Thomson and Airtours have also cut back, leading to thousands of job losses. And they have slashed the number of holidays available by 1m in an attempt to shore up prices.

The cuts in capacity represent an average reduction of 10%, though some have gone further. First Choice, for instance, has cut capacity by a fifth.

Keith Betton, head of corporate affairs at ABTA, said: 'Some destinations have been affected more than others. The number of people travelling to the Middle East, for instance, has fallen quite sharply and remains down, but there does not appear to be much reluctance to travel short-haul in Europe.

'There are fewer people travelling to Florida, a big tourist destination for Britons, but the Americans are proving more reluctant to fly internally so consequently prices of hotels and attractions in Florida are reduced.'

All the major travel companies are offering big incentives to attract holidaymakers. Lunn Poly, for example, has half-price holidays with no charge for children and free insurance.

Falling numbers of visitors to Britain have widened the country's already yawning balance of payments deficit on tourism. In the 10 months to October, the gap stood at a huge £12bn, against £9.3bn for the same period in 2000.